


Hold Back The River

by Esyla



Category: Sense8 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Meeting at the alter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 11:24:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4477457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esyla/pseuds/Esyla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>William of the House Gorski will do his duty and marry this woman in order to secure the treaty for his kingdom. He just hopes he will have a real marriage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hold Back The River

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a Purposal AU. That didn't happen.
> 
> I threw in one of my favorite old wedding traditions because I can and this is my story.

"Just remember that at the end you have to say 'I do,'" his father reminds him. Will nods nervously. This not how he expected this day to go, at all. He had always pictured wooing a Lady and having the time to speak to her parents and make arrangements. He had thought he would get more choice in this matter.

   But the King had said they needed this alliance with the Baron and all his sons were already married or promised to other royals. Will was a Knight and his father, now a minor Lord, had been a knight before him. They were loyal to their King and resided in the capital nearly year round.

   Will still isn't sure why he was chosen out of all the possible knights. He had asked the King when he had been ordered to marry the visiting Lady why he had been chosen.

   "Because you have a kind heart," the King had said, but that wasn't really an answer. There were plenty of other knights with kind hearts and Lords for fathers. And most of those men were not married either.

   "It's time," his father reminds him, shaking Will from his thoughts. He tugs at his formal clothing like a child as he makes his way to the alter. Will was more comfortable in leathers and chain mail. He felt awkward and thin dressed in the fine, fragile fabrics. Exposed.

   "Poor little bird," a woman's voice carries from the pew in front of him. "Lost her husband and child in a single day."

   "I heard it was some kind of accident." A second woman's voice, this one full of interest.

   "Her family is cursed to end with her," the first voice replies, fearful and nasty all at once. "What a waste of a strong young man."

   Will blocks out the rest of the conversation. He knows of his wife-to-be's past. She had been married to a countryman of hers and there had been an accident on the day she gave birth to their child. The carriage they were in had fallen off the road and she had been trapped there for nearly a day before anyone came to find her.

   They think her unfavorable, he realized. They think she is too old and cursed so they give her to me to shame my father.

   It wasn't his father's fault the way the final battle of his service had gone. It wasn't his father's fault that he had not adjusted well to the more sedentary life of a Lord. But that didn't matter, the Kingdom needed allies.

   Maybe it should have made him furious, to realize that he was being given an unwanted task. But, Will thought as the procession began, this might be a better match than he could have hoped for. He, the unwanted knight, and her, the unwanted bride.

   Such a pair they would make.

   The courtiers came down the row and took their seats, the final pair proceeding slowly to the soft organ music. His bride was veiled heavily, as was the custom, so he would not glimpse her face until the vows had been taken and the ring had been given.

   Will's new father-in-law kisses the veil and presents his daughter to Will. She is shorter than him by at least a head, thin boned and delicate beneath the layers of the dress. How strong she must have been to be so small and survive such tragedy.

   The priest takes the blue silk ribbon and ties their right hands together.

   Will wonders what he must look like to her. He does not wear his hair long as is the fashion and frequently has the barber shave his head. His hair had grown out a little since his last shave but it did nothing more than cover his scalp. He wonders how nervous he looks and hopes he doesn’t appear scared.  

   The ceremony was incredibly short. At least, it felt like it was over in three minutes. Will was sure it had lasted longer than that, he had been to  court weddings in the past and they always seemed to drag on and on forever.

   He was given a solid gold band to slide on to his wife's left hand. It was more difficult than he expected to do that with his left hand. He would need to remember to more combat training with his left hand in the future, it would be no good to be so weak on one side.

   The priest unties their hands and allows them to hold the ribbon now, which they must continue to hold throughout the festivities or the wedding can be declared invalid. Will has known many a noble to drop the ribbon on purpose so that they might have grounds for divorce later in case their new wife proves barren. He finds the whole process disgusting.

   "We now seal this union with a kiss," the priest announces.

   The moment of truth. Will reaches out, being sure to keep the ribbon tightly grasped in his right hand as he lifts the veil.

   His breath stops.

   She is stunning. Not at all what he was expecting. He doesn't actually know what he had been expecting. A secret part of him had been expecting someone more hardened - one would think that a woman who had survived death in such a personal way should look like it. That was clearly not the case. This soft, bright, beautiful girl was perfect.

   She smiled up at him and her smile was as bright as the sun off newly polished armor.

   The kiss was soft and chaste and full of promise.

   

* * *

 

   The feast was a large affair. Will and his bride were thankfully not the center of attention. The wedding had simply been the warm up for the real party, to celebrate the alliance of their nations.

   "Would you care for some wine, my Lady?" Will asks when he sees that her cup is empty.

   "Riley," she corrects. "You may call me Riley, husband." Her voice is soft and slightly accented, musical almost.

   "You should call me Will," he tells her with a smile. "Only my father and the King call me William."

   They sit in their little corner of the square, enjoying a meal together, ignoring the party going on around them. Neither of them really pay much attention to what else is going on. They still had the ribbon by the time the King called for them to go to bed.

   

* * *

 

   "We can wait," Will offers as they face each other in the large bedroom, the four poster bed staring them down. "I will not force you to consummate the marriage tonight."

   Riley stands there for a moment chewing her lip.

   "Perhaps simply kissing and touching," she responds after considering the bed for a span of seconds.

   "As you wish, my lady." She blushes when Will bows to her, and the rosy tint to her cheeks sends a stutter to his heart.

   Getting ready for bed proves some what awkward and hesitant. Will cannot simply remove his clothing and throw it onto a chair has he would have in his own rooms. He carefully removes his jacket and vest, pulling the laces out expertly, not ripping them off like he normally would. His pants prove to be a larger issue. Would it be more polite to leave his pants and his undergarments on or should he be brave for the sake of comfort?

   He must have stood there for a long time because when he finally did remove his pants and turn towards the bed Riley was already below the covers looking nervous. Will slipped into the bed on the other side and then made no move. He had little experience in this realm of the world. There hadn't really been ample opportunity with the constant training and then the last war.

   "Are you cold?" he asks to fill the silence.

   "No," she answers, half muffled by the down blanket she has burrowed under. Her hair sticks out on the pillow and it's adorable.

   Will wants this to work. He doesn't just want one of the cold marriages he has seen other nobles have. He realizes he should probably say something to that extent.

   "I know that neither of us chose this marriage and that doesn't bother me," Will begins, staring at the drapes on top of the bed. "I just hope that you are willing to try as much as I am for this to be real." He turns his head and looks at Riley, who is staring at him with wide, hopeful brown eyes. "I don't want to spend my life living with a stranger. I want to grow to love you and for you to grow to love me. I want this to be real."

   He holds his breath waiting for her response, but he doesn't have to wait long to find out. Riley leans out of the covers and over him. She kisses him. Her lips are soft and puckered and taste of the wine they had at dinner. Her hand is a delicate flower on his face. The tear that runs down her face and into their lips doesn't ruin the kiss, it only improves it.

   Will places his hand on her face and pulls back from the kiss.

   "Thank you," Riley smiles with tears in her eyes. Will kisses her cheeks. This is going to be just the kind of marriage he hoped for.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on [tumblr!](http://alyseofwonderland.tumblr.com/)


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